WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pew Center on Global Climate Change announced today that Bayer Corporation has joined the Center’s Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) and its efforts to address global climate change.

“At a pivotal moment in the U.S. climate and energy debate, Bayer joins a growing contingent of business leaders raising their voices to advance climate action,” said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “The BELC’s growth from 13 original member companies in 1998 to 46 today is a testament to the business community’s commitment to develop effective climate solutions. I look forward to working with Bayer’s leadership to advance meaningful efforts that tackle our climate and clean energy challenges.”

Bayer Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Bayer AG, a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition, and high-tech materials that focuses on benefiting people and improving quality of life. Bayer’s activities include three subgroups: Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience. In 2009, Bayer employed approximately 108,400 people worldwide and had sales of €31.2 billion (about $43.4 billion based on the average exchange rate for 2009 of $1.39 per euro). In North America in 2009, Bayer employed approximately 16,300 people and had sales of €7.7 billion (about $10.7 billion).

Bayer HealthCare will decrease its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from 2005 to 2010.

Bayer CropScience will decrease its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2005 to 2010.

Bayer MaterialScience will decrease its specific greenhouse gas emissions per ton of sold product by 25 percent from 2005 to 2010.

To advance energy and climate-related innovation, Bayer plans to invest more than €1 billion in R&D and projects from 2008 to 2010. One example is the Bayer MaterialScience North American EcoCommercial Building Program (ECB), which was launched April 26, 2010. The ECB Program team advocates a holistic, collaborative approach to sustainable building design and construction, focused on seven building solution areas (Insulation; Daylighting; Illumination; Indoor Environmental Quality; Sustainable Energy; Intelligent Building; and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) that help to increase sustainability and reduce energy costs. In another example, Bayer has developed a new type of control tool that is aimed at energy-efficient and climate-friendly production. By mid-2010, around 140 production facilities and buildings will have been put under the microscope. Based on calculations for 126 plants, Bayer believes there is realistic potential for reducing both energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10 percent through 2013.

Additional climate-related projects include the development of plants that can tolerate heat stress, and advances in more efficient biofuels such as the high-yielding InVigor® canola seed which can be processed into biodiesel.

“In our mission, Bayer: Science For A Better Life, we define our role as a good and responsible corporate citizen,” said Bayer Corporation President and CEO Greg Babe. “We take climate change very seriously as an environmental and economic challenge and look forward to joining the BELC and its member companies in engaging and furthering a substantive dialogue in this challenging area.”

The BELC was established by the Pew Center in 1998, and the Center is a leader in helping these and other major corporations integrate climate change into their business strategies. The BELC is comprised of mainly Fortune 500 companies representing a diverse group of industries including energy, automobiles, manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metals, mining, paper and forest products, consumer goods and appliances, telecommunications, and high technology. Individually and collectively, these companies are demonstrating that it is possible to take action to address climate change while maintaining competitive excellence, growth, and profitability. The BELC is the largest U.S.-based association of corporations focused on addressing the challenges of climate change, with 46 companies representing over $2.3 trillion in combined revenue and more than 4.5 million employees.

For more information about global climate change and the activities of the Pew Center and the BELC, visit www.c2es.org.

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The Pew Center on Global Climate Change was established in May 1998 as a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization dedicated to providing credible information, straight answers, and innovative solutions in the effort to address global climate change. The Pew Center is led by Eileen Claussen, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

About Bayer CorporationBayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Corporation is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In North America, Bayer had 2009 net sales of approximately 7.7 billion euros (about $10.7 billion) and employed 16,300 at year end. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.